â€˜The Price Is Rightâ€™

When: 10 a.m. weekdays

Where: CBS

It's easy to spot Clint Brink in photos from the set of "The Price Is Right": He's a handsome bare-chested fellow among all the other good-looking shirtless guys, but he's the one wearing a nametag that reads "Clint" on his naked chest.

The actor-model from Yorba Linda, you see, is part of a contest to pick the first male model for the long-running CBS game show. He's made it to the final three – with the winner to be announced on the show on Friday – so we called him up to find out how a surfer from Orange County ended up with a shot at modeling alongside host Drew Carey and all that shiny, shiny merchandise on "The Price Is Right."

The 27-year-old describes a typical Orange County childhood: riding his bike around town with his friends, playing sports such as baseball and water polo, and surfing whenever he got the chance at his favorite spot, 42nd Street in Newport Beach.

He acted in youth theater productions, too, but it wasn't until he was enrolled at Orange Coast College that he got the lucky break that helped him enter show biz. A photographer and model scout saw him and asked him if he'd pose for photographs. Those images got him signed by Nous Model Management in Los Angeles.

"I was in really good shape and tan," Brink says matter-of-factly. "It was just really good timing. And then one of my first auditions was for Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister and I ended up landing Hollister.

"I got a lot of attention from that from my family and friends," he says. "They'd walk past the Hollister store and there'd be a picture of me. And then they'd buy something and there'd be a picture of me on the bag."

After transferring to UCLA, where he majored in history and minored in film and acting, Brink continued to pursue work as an actor and model, appearing in student films, attending auditions, but never really getting that next big break. His manager suggested he enroll in Meisner technique acting classes, Brink says, and it was like a switch flipped.

"It instantly changed my mentality, even on modeling auditions," Brink says. "Basically, what (Meisner) does is teach you to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances. So soon after I started booking some big jobs."

He landed a national Payless Shoes commercial, an Old Navy spot with Mr. T and Anna Faris, an NBC pilot with Betty White.

"Basically I started getting some momentum," he says. "And then my agent called me and said, 'CBS is going to have an open casting call to find a male model for "The Price Is Right." ' And it kind of instantly intrigued me. I had a smile on my face thinking how fun that would be.

"I watched it when I was really young. Every time I heard the music and I heard the announcer come on I would just be so excited because I knew I'd be seeing the coolest stuff."

The casting call started out with hundreds of guys lined up for a shot at appearing on the show, which traditionally has featured women in the roles of game show models, who joke with the host and contestants and show off the merchandise that's at the heart of the game. This time, the women models were the judges for the male model auditions, and Brink must have done something right because he made it to the semi-final rounds and through several more eliminations until only he and two others, Nick Denbeigh and Rob Wilson, were left to be chosen by fans voting at priceisright.com.

His long-term career goals involve acting more than modeling – he's the lead in an independent film project called "Broadway Lofts" and his dream is to work with Quentin Tarantino someday – but if he wins "The Price Is Right" gig he'll be thrilled.

"A job like this can get me closer than I ever imagined," Brink says of the opportunity the exposure on "The Price Is Right" might bring. "It's a class job. It's the best game show on TV bar none.

"And I think I'd be good on the show. I think I'd have a good rapport with everyone. I'm quick. I'm witty. I'm genuine.

"This," he says, "is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and I just really want to get the chance to pull through."

Clint Brink of Yorba Linda is one of three guys vying for a spot as the first-ever male model on the CBS game show "The Price Is Right." SONJA FLEMMING, CBS
Clint Brink played baseball, soccer and water polo growing up in Yorba Linda, but it was parents' suggestion that he try a youth theater production that sowed the seeds of ambition for a career in Hollywood. COURTESY OF CLINT BRINK
Nick Denbeigh of Spokane, Wash., is another of the three finalists for a spot as a male model on "The Price Is Right." SONJA FLEMMING, CBS
Clint Brink lives in Westwood now, staying close by UCLA where he graduated with a degree in history and a minor in film and acting. COURTESY OF CLINT BRINK
Rob Wilson of Boston is the third of three finalists for a spot as the first male model on "The Price Is Right." SONJA FLEMMING, CBS
Clint Brink hopes to win a spot on "The Price Is Right," but his long-term goal is to act in a Quentin Tarantino movie. COURTESY OF CLINT BRINK

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